October 12, 2010

For certain types of burns, a slow healing process results in the injury being covered in a dense mass of scar tissue, deadening the area to most sensations. One notable exception is proximity to any kind of warmth, which produces a deep, itching ache that cannot be precisely located by the patient. This ache typically lingers even after the source of the warm feeling has been removed. Attempts to correct the condition with surgery are not successful, tending only to produce new layers of even denser scar tissue. Tests of non-surgical therapeutic approaches remain inconclusive.